Two deputy speakers from the House of Representatives have castigated Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste for making a sweeping allegation against his colleagues on the issue of vote-buying.

Deputy Speakers La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V and Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun underscored on Friday, May 8 that the rookie solon never bothered to present evidence when he made he claims in plenary.

The two said that essentially, Leviste raised an unfair accusation that dragged the whole institution into controversy on the strength of hearsay.

“Privilege is given to members so we can speak truth with courage, not so we can weaponize the floor for rumors, innuendo and baseless accusations,” Ortega said.

“What Rep. Leviste did was unparliamentary. Hindi porket congressman ka, puwede ka nang manglait, magparatang at mandamay ng buong institusyon nang walang hawak na ebidensiya,” Khonghun added.

(Just because you’re a congressman doesn’t mean you can insult, accuse, and drag an entire institution without holding any evidence.)

Leviste’s speech last Tuesday, May 5 initially dealt with Batangas politics, but he later broadened it and claimed that all members of the House allegedly engaged in vote-buying and that election expenses in Batangas, Quezon and other areas in Calabarzon were supposedly higher than in other regions.

The plenary later approved motions to strike from the record portions of Leviste’s speech that lawmakers found unsupported by evidence.

Ortega, who presided over the tense proceedings Wednesday that saw visibly irked congressmen interpellate Leviste, said that discipline, fairness, and respect for colleagues must be observed at all times.

“We can disagree sharply in Congress, but we do not destroy reputations casually. Parliamentary privilege is a shield for truth, not a license for careless accusation,” Ortega said.

“Ang hinihingi lang naman sa kanya ay respeto sa proseso at respeto sa kapwa miyembro (What’s being asked of him is simply respect for the process and respect for fellow members). If you accuse, you must be ready to prove. If you cannot prove, you must have the decency to withdraw,” he added of Leviste.

Ortega said the incident should remind all lawmakers that privilege speeches carry institutional weight and must never be used to convert personal or local political disputes into sweeping attacks against Congress.

Khonghun said Leviste’s remarks were unfair to House members who went through the elections lawfully and worked to earn the mandate of their constituents.

“Madaling magbitaw ng mabibigat na salita kapag headline lang naman ang habol mo. Pero hindi dapat gawing collateral damage ang buong Kamara para lang maging newsworthy ang isang privilege speech,” he said.

(It’s easy to throw heavy words when you’re only chasingIt’s easy to throw heavy words when you’re only chasing headlines. But the entire House should not be made collateral damage just to make a privilege speech newsworthy.)

Khonghun also warned that sweeping accusations against the House only deepen public cynicism and weaken institutions when they are made without evidence.

“Ang tunay na tapang sa public service ay ang magsalita nang may ebidensiya, hindi ang magparatang tapos iiwan sa iba ang responsibilidad ng paglilinis ng kanilang pangalan,” the deputy speaker said.

(True courage in public service is speaking with evidence, not hurling accusations and then leaving others with the burden of clearing their names.)